Del Mar racing CEO lists oceanfront home

$25 million Del Mar home on sale

An oceanfront home in Del Mar that once hosted celebrities such as Merv Griffin, Eva Gabor, and Bing Crosby is now on the market for a cool $25 million.

The 4,700 square-foot home is owned by Del Mar Thoroughbred Club chief executive Joe Harper and his wife Barbara, who bought it for about $170,000 in 1970. After buying the home, the Harpers tore down a beach bungalow that actress and World War II pinup girl Betty Grable and actor and musician Harry James once occupied. The Harpers then built the larger home that stands today at 1716 Ocean Front, which was listed for sale Feb. 1.

Harper, 70, said he has no plans to leave the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, and that there’s no immediate rush to make the sale. He said his family owns other properties in San Diego and a ranch in Tucson, Ariz.

“Barbara and I have lived in that house for probably longer than we’ve lived anywhere,” Harper said. “I think it’s about time to move on a little bit.”

Ocean Front in Del Mar has been home to multiple recent high-end sales. Last year, a 4,000 square-foot home at 1936 Ocean Front sold for $18.75 million, the highest price tag in the county last year. The county’s highest sale recorded came in 2007, when a Del Mar home also on Ocean Front sold for $48.15 million, according to the San Diego Association of Realtors.

While the Harpers have lived in the home since it was remodeled in 1988, Joe said he once rented it to famed Laffit Pincay, Jr., one of horse racing’s winningest jockeys.

Harper, grandson of famed director Cecil B. DeMille, said he often hosted parties at the house after opening day at the races that included an all-star cast. In addition to Gabor and Griffin, who Harper said loved Brie cheese, the guests have included Kevin Costner, Uma Thurman and Mario Lopez. Harper said the home can comfortably fit up to 200 people, so long as there’s valet parking.

Harper said the five-bedroom, six-bathroom home doesn’t have any secret rooms, but that its biggest asset is 60 feet of ocean frontage. The home has a riprap under the sand, not a seawall, to protect it from high waves. It also has an open atrium in the middle, a three car garage with seven additional parking spots, and five fireplaces.

Harper said the neighborhood looks a lot different today than it did when he first bought the property more than 40 years ago, when the area was comprised mostly of large cabanas that were not insulated.

“More and more all of a sudden people started realizing, ‘hey, living on the beach isn’t a bad deal, especially living in California,’” he said. “So we built a house that was definitely not just a beach house, but a house that was built to withstand the ocean.”